Buffer Overflow with FMU Only!! During Live Performance at DVinfo.net

Jeff Bradt · May 23rd, 2010, 05:31 PM

To my knowledge, nobody on this forum has ever experienced the dreaded Buffer Overflow problem when recording to ONLY the FMU.....until today. I was in the middle of filming a dance recital and one of my two NX5U's locked up with the Buffer Overflow. It took me about a minute to pull the battery and reboot and get back running. The 2nd cam covered the shot, but I had my audio feed from the board into the bad cam.

To be honest, I'm quite angry about this problem. I spent $10k on 2 PROFESSIONAL camcorders that now are a threat to my business. I know things happen, especially with new products but what is this crap about Sony telling me that I would have to PAY to send the cams back for an upgrade. I know the word now is that there is a downloadable upgrade, but I have not verified that yet with my Sony tech support guy. This is a design flaw and therefore should not be handled like a normal warranty issue. Does Toyota as if your warranty is still in effect when they uncover a design flaw? Of course not. Nobody does except Sony.

If there are any more Buffer Overflow problems after the upgrades are installed, with my cams or even others, my cams will be for sale. The risk of doing professional video work with cameras that are not reliable is way too high. Especially when the manufacturer won't stand behind them.

My 2 cents.

Stephen Pinchback · May 24th, 2010, 07:03 AM

Sorry to hear about your problems. I hope Sony releases a fix ASAP because none of us can afford to lose footage. Can you list your settings used when the lockup occurred?

Jeff Bradt · May 24th, 2010, 07:35 AM

I did just called Sony and my rep hadn't heard of the downloadable fix but he was going to check into it and call me back. I also expressed my extreme displeasure about having to possibly pay to mail the cams back. I'll be sure to post here when he calls back.

Here are the details around the Buffer Overflow yesterday:

Recording to ONLY the FMU
Format was 1080 60i
Cam was full manual - exposure, shutter, gain, focus
GPS was not on
ACT Steady was off
Audio was via XLR: shotgun and board feed

We had filmed about an hour and were just coming off intermission. I had just hit record when the error message occurred. I immediately pulled the battery and went through a couple menus about trying to recover data. The cam was down for about a minute. ....a very LONG minute

Ron Evans · May 24th, 2010, 09:12 AM

Mine occurred also after a hour Act 1 and the start of Act 2. I was recording to FMU and 32G card and also was recording from shotgun to both inputs one auto one manual. I just powered off then back on and it asked to recover data and I selected NO. Powered off again and back on and it worked. Since then I have used just the cards and is working OK. I think the issue is the FMU. I lost about 35 secs according to my timeline. I had two other cams running so recovered.

Ron Evans

Jeff Bradt · May 24th, 2010, 10:34 AM

Interesting that both our errors occured at the same point Ron. But I'm tired of trying to put 2 and 2 together to figure out what Sony should be doing. They should be telling us what's going on. So far, I've known more than anyone at Sony that I've talked to about this problem.

Even after the "fix", I will not be comfortable with these cameras for some time. We all (even Sony) thought that by recording to ONLY the FMU, this error shouldn't occur. Now we know that isn't true.

What else is there that we and Sony don't know yet?

Ryan Douthit · May 24th, 2010, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Bradt

I did just called Sony and my rep hadn't heard of the download

For what it's worth, I posted a direct reply from Sony Broadcast repair in the other thread. Essentially, they are well aware of the issue and will have a customer-installable reflash going out later this week (based on his email to me last week.)

Christopher Kou · May 24th, 2010, 03:45 PM

I also had a "Buffer Overflow" error this past weekend while shooting with my FMU unit ONLY. I had an SD card in the slot but was not recording to it, so as to avoid this error. However, no such luck.

Shooting FX 1080 30p
FMU-128 only.

After the error I simply switched over to my SD card and had no problems thereafter. The funny thing is that I tested the FMU and SD card simultaneous shooting for hours before shooting this wedding. I think it has to do with something that happens with the buffer when you start and then stop recording in shorter clips. When I tested I shot for hours straight without a hitch. The straight shooting during the wedding ceremony went fine. It was during the shorter clip shooting at the reception that I had the error.

Jeff Bradt · May 24th, 2010, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christopher Kou

I also had a "Buffer Overflow" error this past weekend while shooting with my FMU unit ONLY. .

Wow, interesting. You and I are the only two who have reported the error while writing to the FMU ONLY. I sure hope Sony's fix will help that situation too.

One thing I've learned about this problem...don't ever think you're safe. No matter how much your cam has run without a problem....no matter how many times you've started and stopped the cam. It will come out of nowhere and I believe everyone is susceptible until the fix is applied. I have run my cams for many many hours between Buffer Overflows. I was feeling really safe, especially since I wasn't writing simultaneously to the SD cards and FMU. I was wrong.

Dan Asseff · May 24th, 2010, 06:59 PM

I have over 20 hours on my NX5. I use both but I am recording sd to the fmu. Has any body had that problem shooting sd to the fmu?

Dan
Forever Moments Video Productions

Allan Phan · May 27th, 2010, 08:27 AM

This is really suck and I hope the soon to be released firmware will address this issue otherwise I am going back to Canon.

Jeff Bradt · May 28th, 2010, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allan Phan

This is really suck and I hope the soon to be released firmware will address this issue otherwise I am going back to Canon.

I've always been Canon myself until the NX5's. This is the last chance for these cams as far as I'm concerned. There is way too much at risk.

I'm hopeful at this point that all will be well, but we'll see.

Denny Kyser · June 2nd, 2010, 04:39 PM

I feel for you guys, I love Sony but have only had the EX1 and EX1r, hate that they are dropping the ball on this unit.

I have owned many Canon products and they have dropped the ball a few times too. I will not jump on their new cameras yet, this thread probably pushed me to another EX1r, rather than take the chance on one of these cameras.

Adam Welz · June 3rd, 2010, 09:19 AM

Please let's not get too excited about this buffer overflow issue until it starts happening with people who have upgraded to firmware 2.0!

Ben Gourlay · June 4th, 2010, 06:33 AM

Hey Adam; please keep the NXCAM blog alive; I check it every day to see if there is any updates. Really enjoy your work with it.

Francis Lee · June 5th, 2010, 07:14 AM

Where is Adam's NXcam Blog?

May 23rd, 2010, 05:31 PM	#1
Jeff Bradt Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Simpsonville SC Posts: 133	Buffer Overflow with FMU Only!! During Live Performance To my knowledge, nobody on this forum has ever experienced the dreaded Buffer Overflow problem when recording to ONLY the FMU.....until today. I was in the middle of filming a dance recital and one of my two NX5U's locked up with the Buffer Overflow. It took me about a minute to pull the battery and reboot and get back running. The 2nd cam covered the shot, but I had my audio feed from the board into the bad cam. To be honest, I'm quite angry about this problem. I spent $10k on 2 PROFESSIONAL camcorders that now are a threat to my business. I know things happen, especially with new products but what is this crap about Sony telling me that I would have to PAY to send the cams back for an upgrade. I know the word now is that there is a downloadable upgrade, but I have not verified that yet with my Sony tech support guy. This is a design flaw and therefore should not be handled like a normal warranty issue. Does Toyota as if your warranty is still in effect when they uncover a design flaw? Of course not. Nobody does except Sony. If there are any more Buffer Overflow problems after the upgrades are installed, with my cams or even others, my cams will be for sale. The risk of doing professional video work with cameras that are not reliable is way too high. Especially when the manufacturer won't stand behind them. My 2 cents. __________________ Jeff

May 24th, 2010, 07:35 AM	#3
Jeff Bradt Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Simpsonville SC Posts: 133	I did just called Sony and my rep hadn't heard of the downloadable fix but he was going to check into it and call me back. I also expressed my extreme displeasure about having to possibly pay to mail the cams back. I'll be sure to post here when he calls back. Here are the details around the Buffer Overflow yesterday: Recording to ONLY the FMU Format was 1080 60i Cam was full manual - exposure, shutter, gain, focus GPS was not on ACT Steady was off Audio was via XLR: shotgun and board feed We had filmed about an hour and were just coming off intermission. I had just hit record when the error message occurred. I immediately pulled the battery and went through a couple menus about trying to recover data. The cam was down for about a minute. ....a very LONG minute __________________ Jeff

May 24th, 2010, 09:12 AM	#4
Ron Evans Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,222	Mine occurred also after a hour Act 1 and the start of Act 2. I was recording to FMU and 32G card and also was recording from shotgun to both inputs one auto one manual. I just powered off then back on and it asked to recover data and I selected NO. Powered off again and back on and it worked. Since then I have used just the cards and is working OK. I think the issue is the FMU. I lost about 35 secs according to my timeline. I had two other cams running so recovered. Ron Evans Last edited by Ron Evans; May 24th, 2010 at 10:14 AM.

May 24th, 2010, 10:34 AM	#5
Jeff Bradt Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Simpsonville SC Posts: 133	Interesting that both our errors occured at the same point Ron. But I'm tired of trying to put 2 and 2 together to figure out what Sony should be doing. They should be telling us what's going on. So far, I've known more than anyone at Sony that I've talked to about this problem. Even after the "fix", I will not be comfortable with these cameras for some time. We all (even Sony) thought that by recording to ONLY the FMU, this error shouldn't occur. Now we know that isn't true. What else is there that we and Sony don't know yet? __________________ Jeff

May 24th, 2010, 03:45 PM	#7
Christopher Kou New Boot Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Prospect Heights, IL Posts: 7	Wedding Shoot Buffer Overflow I also had a "Buffer Overflow" error this past weekend while shooting with my FMU unit ONLY. I had an SD card in the slot but was not recording to it, so as to avoid this error. However, no such luck. Shooting FX 1080 30p FMU-128 only. After the error I simply switched over to my SD card and had no problems thereafter. The funny thing is that I tested the FMU and SD card simultaneous shooting for hours before shooting this wedding. I think it has to do with something that happens with the buffer when you start and then stop recording in shorter clips. When I tested I shot for hours straight without a hitch. The straight shooting during the wedding ceremony went fine. It was during the shorter clip shooting at the reception that I had the error.

May 24th, 2010, 07:03 AM	#2
Stephen Pinchback New Boot Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 11	Sorry to hear about your problems. I hope Sony releases a fix ASAP because none of us can afford to lose footage. Can you list your settings used when the lockup occurred?

May 24th, 2010, 06:59 PM	#9
Dan Asseff Major Player Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Port Orange Fl Posts: 317	I have over 20 hours on my NX5. I use both but I am recording sd to the fmu. Has any body had that problem shooting sd to the fmu? Dan Forever Moments Video Productions

May 27th, 2010, 08:27 AM	#10
Allan Phan Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 95	This is really suck and I hope the soon to be released firmware will address this issue otherwise I am going back to Canon.

June 2nd, 2010, 04:39 PM	#12
Denny Kyser Major Player Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Warren, Pa Posts: 785	I feel for you guys, I love Sony but have only had the EX1 and EX1r, hate that they are dropping the ball on this unit. I have owned many Canon products and they have dropped the ball a few times too. I will not jump on their new cameras yet, this thread probably pushed me to another EX1r, rather than take the chance on one of these cameras. __________________ 2 Canon XF305's Kyser Photography www.kyserphoto.com

June 3rd, 2010, 09:19 AM	#13
Adam Welz Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: New York, USA Posts: 111	There is now a fix, guys... Please let's not get too excited about this buffer overflow issue until it starts happening with people who have upgraded to firmware 2.0!

June 4th, 2010, 06:33 AM	#14
Ben Gourlay New Boot Join Date: May 2010 Location: Australia Posts: 14	Hey Adam; please keep the NXCAM blog alive; I check it every day to see if there is any updates. Really enjoy your work with it.

June 5th, 2010, 07:14 AM	#15
Francis Lee Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 43	Where is Adam's NXcam Blog?